Delta Twin Tunnels!

If you're writing on the Congressional action to exempt the Delta Twin tunnels from legal challenges, consider this statement from John McManus, president of the Golden Gate Salmon Association (GGSA). GGSA represents sport and commercial salmon fishermen and related businesses.

"The Delta water tunnels project, formerly known as the Peripheral Canal, was defeated by voters in 1982. This time around the project is being shoved down the throats of all Californians without allowing a vote of the people. Today we learn that Congressman Ken Calvert is proposing a law exempting the salmon killing tunnels from legal review by groups like GGSA, local governments and others. Construction of the current version of the tunnels would break numerous laws protecting salmon and other natural resources from destruction. Since the tunnels would wreck the environment in violation of current law, Congressman Calvert is proposing to change the law instead of changing the tunnels.

Salmon and other species will be wiped out if the current version of the tunnels is built, which is why GGSA and allies are already in court calling for a fair legal review. Those in favor of the tunnels and moving more northern California water to southern California know we’re likely to win in court since the environmental damage is easy to prove. That’s why they’re using their money and political connections to simply get the laws changed rather than comply with the law and modify the tunnels to make them less damaging."

GGSA president John McManus is a long-time salmon fisherman and salmon advocate. He comes from a varied background that includes ten years of commercial salmon fishing in southeast Alaska, 15 years producing news for CNN and more recently, 11 years doing publicity and organizing for the public interest environmental law firm Earthjustice. Work at Earthjustice included organizing and publicity supporting restored salmon fisheries in the Columbia, Klamath and Sacramento rivers.

A San Francisco native, Muni Pier and Lake Merced were the places where he first learned to tie a fishing line, bait a hook, and cast. He’s a long time member of the Coastside Fishing Club and keeps a boat part of the year in Half Moon Bay.

From the 1970s on he spent a lot of time in the north coast salmon communities of Bodega Bay, Pt. Arena, Fort Bragg and Eureka. As salmon runs declined in the 1990’s, he got a front row seat to the demise of these communities, something that fuels his advocacy for salmon and salmon communities to this day.

The Golden Gate Salmon Association is a coalition of salmon advocates that includes commercial and recreational salmon fisherman, businesses, restaurants, a native tribe, environmentalists, elected officials, families and communities that rely on salmon.

Currently, California’s salmon industry is valued at $1.4 billion in economic activity annually in a regular season and about half that much in economic activity and jobs again in Oregon. The industry employs tens of thousands of people from Santa Barbara to northern Oregon. This is a huge economic bloc made up of commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen (fresh and salt water), fish processors, marinas, coastal communities, equipment manufacturers, the hotel and food industry, tribes, and the salmon fishing industry at large.